Restrictions
Where the card will not work.
18 kinds of merchant are refused before your balance is even checked. The decision is made on the merchant’s category code, so a shop that also sells something on this list can be declined even when you are buying something else.
Cash and money movement
These turn a card payment into something that cannot be traced, so card networks refuse them outright.
- Money transfer, remittances and wires
- Cash disbursement over the counter
- Cash machines
- Financial institutions: merchandise, services and debt repayment
- Quasi-cash from a financial institution
- Non-fiat currency including cryptocurrency, money orders and travellers cheques
- Security brokers and dealers
- Buying or loading a stored-value card
High-dispute categories
Issuers will not carry the dispute rates these categories generate.
- Outbound telemarketing
- Dating services
- Massage parlours
Regulated differently by region
Gambling rules change by country, so some of it is restricted everywhere and some only in certain regions.
- Government-owned lotteriesUS
- Licensed online casinos and gamblingUS
- Licensed horse and dog racingUS
- Betting: lottery tickets, gaming chips, off-track betting and wagers
- Government-owned lotteriesoutside the US
Donations
Blocked by the issuer’s programme rules.
- Political organisations
- Religious organisations